The 328th Infantry Division (german: 328. Infanterie-Division) was the name of two distinct infantry divisions of the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. The first, simply dubbed ''328th Infantry Division'', existed between 1941 and 1943, while the second, designated 328th Infantry Division "Zealand" (german: 328. Infanterie-Division „Seeland", links=no), existed for just under two months in 1945.

Operational history

328th Infantry Division (1941–1943)

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* Eastern Front * Case Anton , battles_label = , decorations = , battle_honours = , battle_honours_label = , website = , commander1 = * Albert Fett (19/12/1941) * Wilhelm Behrens (30/12/1941) * Joachim von Tresckow (3/3/1942) *

Karl Böttcher __NOTOC__ Karl Böttcher (25 October 1889 – 21 October 1973) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded several divisions. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Böttcher served in the Deutsche ...

(8/5/1943) * Joachim von Tresckow (31/5/1943) , current_commander = , commander1_label = Commander , commander2 = , commander2_label = , commander3 = , commander3_label = , commander4 = , commander4_label = , commander5 = , commander5_label = , commander6 = , commander6_label = , commander7 = , commander7_label = , commander8 = , commander8_label = , commander9 = , commander9_label = , notable_commanders = , identification_symbol = , identification_symbol_label = , identification_symbol_2 = , identification_symbol_3 = , identification_symbol_4 = , identification_symbol_2_label = , identification_symbol_3_label = , identification_symbol_4_label = , identification_symbol_5 = , identification_symbol_5_label = , identification_symbol_6 = , identification_symbol_6_label = The 328th Infantry Division was formed as a so-called ''valkyrie division'' of the seventeenth deployment wave on 19 December 1941. By 2 January 1942, the division was deployed at Mielau and consisted of Infantry Regiments 547 through 549 with two battalions each (for a total of six infantry battalions) as well as the Artillery Regiment 328 with two detachments and the Division Units 328. Albert Fett was briefly assigned as divisional commander, before Wilhelm Behrens took command on 30 December 1941. He was in turn succeeded by Joachim von Tresckow, who (except for a brief interruption by

in May 1943) commanded the 328th Infantry Division for the rest of its existence. The 328th marched on foot from

Suwałki Suwałki ( lt, Suvalkai; yi, סואוואַלק) is a city in northeastern Poland with a population of 69,206 (2021). It is the capital of Suwałki County and one of the most important centers of commerce in the Podlaskie Voivodeship. Suwałki ...

into the rear area of Army Group Centre on the Eastern Front, where Infantry Regiment 547 was detached from the division along with 1st Bn Artillery Regiment 328. The two formations did not return to the division and were integrated into the 83rd Infantry Division on 11 February 1943. In October 1942, the 328th Infantry Division was redeployed from the

Zubtsov Zubtsov (russian: Зубцо́в) is a town and the administrative center of Zubtsovsky District in Tver Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Volga and Vazuza Rivers, south of Tver, the administrative center of the oblast. Populati ...

sector, where it had been heavily battered by

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

troops, to

German-occupied France The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zo ...

. There, it was reinforced by upgrading the regiments 548 and 549 (now designated ''grenadier regiments'') with a third battalion, as well as by forming an all-new three-battalion regiment in the form of Grenadier Regiment 569, bringing the division to a strength of nine infantry battalions. Artillery Regiment 328 was brought up to a strength of four batteries. In France, the division participated in Case Anton, the November 1942 German military occupation of the ''

zone libre The ''zone libre'' (, ''free zone'') was a partition of the French metropolitan territory during World War II, established at the Second Armistice at Compiègne on 22 June 1940. It lay to the south of the demarcation line and was administered b ...

'' of

Vichy France Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its te ...

, and took over command of the

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

sector, where it concerned itself with issues such as the establishment of military brothels. The division was subsequently deployed to the Eastern Front again, where it took heavy damage over the course of the year 1943 and was eventually dissolved on 2 November 1943. The remnants of the division were formed into Division Group 328 (german: Divisions-Gruppe 328, links=no), which was attached to the

306th Infantry Division 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...

. Subsequently, some former segments of the divisions were brought westwards to help form the 353rd Infantry Division.

328th Infantry Division "Zealand" (1945)

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Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

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, battles_label = , decorations = , battle_honours = , battle_honours_label = , website = , commander1 = , current_commander = , commander1_label = Commander , commander2 = , commander2_label = , commander3 = , commander3_label = , commander4 = , commander4_label = , commander5 = , commander5_label = , commander6 = , commander6_label = , commander7 = , commander7_label = , commander8 = , commander8_label = , commander9 = , commander9_label = , notable_commanders = , identification_symbol = , identification_symbol_label = , identification_symbol_2 = , identification_symbol_3 = , identification_symbol_4 = , identification_symbol_2_label = , identification_symbol_3_label = , identification_symbol_4_label = , identification_symbol_5 = , identification_symbol_5_label = , identification_symbol_6 = , identification_symbol_6_label = The 328th Infantry Division "Zealand" was formed in German-occupied Denmark on 9 March 1945, using recovering wounded Wehrmacht personnel. These wounded soldiers had previously been organized in formations known as ''recoveree batallions D'' (german: Genesenden-Bataillone D, links=no), with the letter D indicating ''Denmark''. It was to consist of three Grenadier Regiments (593, 594, 595) of three battalions each, as well as a newly-formed Artillery Regiment 328 of two batteries, and the Supply Regiment 328. The division was never battle-ready, as it was still in the process of deployment when Germany surrendered on 8 May 1945. Throughout its brief existence, the would-be division was headquartered at

Notable individuals

* Wilhelm Behrens: Divisional commander of the 328th Infantry Division from 30 December 1941 to 3 March 1942. * Joachim von Tresckow: Divisional commander of the 328th Infantry Division from 3 March 1942 to 8 May 1943 and from 31 May 1943 to 2 November 1943. Went on to become commander of

18th Luftwaffe Field Division The 18th Luftwaffe Field Division (german: 18. Luftwaffen-Feld-Division) was an infantry division of the ''Luftwaffe'' branch of Nazi Germany's Wehrmacht during the Second World War. It was set up on 1 December 1942 from surplus Luftwaffe personne ...

. *

: Divisional commander of the 328th Infantry Division from 8 May 1943 to 31 May 1943.

References

{{Infantry Divisions of the Wehrmacht Infantry divisions of Germany during World War II Military units and formations established in 1941 Military units and formations established in 1945 Military units and formations disestablished in 1943 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945